I don't know if this is common knowledge or not, it wasn't to me, so I shall share it.


ETSU spent $6,040,988 on athletics in the year 2006. A measly 15% of that went to Men's Basketball, $883,173. Now after doing a little research on other universities....15 % of the over all athletics budget is about average for a mens basketball program.

Though it should also be noted that Lipscomb had a 2006 budget of $5,432,428 and $1,270,439 of that money went toward men's basketball. That comes out at 23%.

My only point is this, ETSU dropped football in order to trumpet our basketball program, is it therefor not reasonable to assume that we would be spending more than 15% of the athletics budget on our premier sport?

http://www.midmajority.com/school.php?s=ETSU

http://www.midmajority.com/school.php?s=LIP

Midmajority is a great site.

And you'll see a lot of truths there. One of my dreams has always been to see ETSU win the NCAA men's tournament. But it's kind of hard to do that when you see what ETSU's budget (or expenses) are as compared to, say, Ohio State or even Virginia.

The thing ETSU will tell you is how their women's soccer team- which only won five games last year- is picked for fourth in the conference and Lipscomb- which gives priority to basketball- is picked to finish last.

That's really why I cringe whenever I see the golf team do well (though when you look at their budget they are clearly underachievers). With no additional emphasis on sports people actually care to buy tickets to, ETSU has a rationalization that golf is as important as basketball or baseball.

That is reinforced in the administration's minds whenever the golf team does well.

The effects? Joe Avento is not just the ETSU writer but the golf writer at the JC Press, and then is given a sports talk co-hosting job where he primarily talks golf.

Heck, even the BFFF has a golf tournament.

I never hated golf before. I enjoyed it. But the overemphasis on golf around here and the blue blood culture surrounding it has totally turned me off to the sport.

At least around here.





It's also why I think Title IX is a bad idea,

Administration aside...Golf can win or lose....nobody cares.

Soccer can win or lose....no one cares.

If we are to be honest, nobody really cares if baseball wins or loses...not in Johnson City.

Men's Basketball is the only sport ETSU has, as far as the public is concerned.

Absolutely no one in this city gives a damn that ETSU soccer is picked fourth.

If the polls that come out in October have ETSU picked anything but first....we'll all be pissed.

Absolutely.

Of coruse the thing is at ETSU the non-revenue sports take priority over the revenue sports.

Clearly

ETSU didn't drop football to trumpet basketball. The only reason ETSU dropped football was so they could start "winning the right way".

When are they going to start doing that?

Come on, they are already doing it. Don't you listen to Mullins?

No, I don't.

This is probably our biggest frustration with our athletics now. Our men's basketball has actually gone DOWN since we dropped football. We are in a worse conference with a worse basketball team. Without football. There is really no defending the people in charge of our athletics now. Frustrating is not the word for it but is the only word I can think of. ARRGGHHH!

About the same time hell freezes over and/or our athletes get out of the academic cellar in the A-Sun. Win the All-Sports Trophies, horrible academics.

Goldfinger Wrote:When are they going to start doing that?